Interview with Comedian & Actor Matt McCarthy

If you don't know the name, you've probably seen his generously expressive face, framed by a bright red mane. On dozens of nationally airing TV commercials, redhead comedian Matt McCarthy plays a surly Pilgrim, an abrasive flower delivery man, and can't win cable guy on an ever funnier quest to beat Verizon FIOS. Whether it's stalking the Zen like calm Verizon guy to learn tricks of the trade, or demanding to know why a company should listen to their customers, he takes a downtrodden, even unlikeable character and comically morphs into a lovable loser people root for as they laugh their butts off. You may have Verizon, or hate your own cable company, but Matt McCarthy's 'Charlie Brown' like hapless cable guy reminds us how funny it can be to lose - especially when it's someone else who's doing the losing.

Matt graciously shared his busy schedule with me for a phone chat. We talked about how the Verizon ads and other television commercials have boosted his blossoming career, the comedy troupe he's involved in, Front Page Films, and how the overly devoted can spoil the fun of a comedy pop culture fixture like Comedy Central's South Park.

Where did you grow up? What dramatic/acting training do you have?

I grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. The only real training I've had was whatever acting class they had at my high school. We were required to take a month of drama, and like a month of drawing, and a month of music.

So you had a mix of the arts?

Yeah, but it was pathetic. My old high school is so much better now. They have the most insane art department. It's gotta be one of the best ones in the country.

Did you know right away you'd become a comedian - as a kid or young adult?

Yeah, I wanted to be a comedian, but other people tell you what you should be thinking and feeling around high school and college, so I put it out of my head. I thought I gotta get a job. I've got to make money. I've got to have a career and study something. Blah blah blah. So I started working a shitty day job, and I thought, "I can't do this." I started having anxiety attacks and feeling that I was wasting my time. I was not meant to be doing this, just pushing buttons on a computer all day. Soon, I started setting goals and dates that I would be doing stand-up comedy by a certain point. My comedy came from being a TV junkie as a kid, and gravitating towards what was fun and made me laugh. I'd always be watching Comedy Channel as a kid, which ultimately became Comedy Central.

Why are people funny? Is it something different with different people - or do you feel there's a definite "recipe" or model for being a funny person?

I think there are funny people and unfunny people. I think it's as simple as that. It must be some sort of hereditary trait. And some asshole scientist is going to figure it out one day, you know the comedy gene.

Is it tough or fun being a redhead? Have you gotten jobs because you're a redhead - or lost a few because of your hair color?

There was something once where they told me, "You'd be too distracting." The consensus was my look would pull attention away from what was supposed to be the focus. I'm not sure if this was a commercial or a sketch, not sure what the hell it was. But for awhile, especially when you're a kid, it's all people see you as... it becomes your defining characteristic.

Do you hear of the 'Ginger Kid' violence against redheads because kids acted out South Park?

Those people are fucking idiots. It's almost like the Archie Bunker effect. You have to be of a certain level of intelligence to know what they're doing. Like when people back in the day would watch Archie Bunker (All In The Family), they'd go "That's how I think!" People who get their opinions from South Park are the biggest losers in the world! And that's a great show, but people have ruined it! I don't like watching it anymore. The fanbase has ruined it for me. It's people who suck the joy out of everything. It's like, would you fucking relax? Can we just enjoy it? Some people turn it into a competition like how much they know about it.

Yeah! Like a religion?

Yes, yes, they turn it into a religion! They somehow try to commandeer it. That it's theirs now and it belongs to them. They become yapping drones. It's like people who go to buy cupcakes because they saw it on HBO the night before. You know... It's like you're a fucking idiot. I'll never eat a Magnolia cupcake as long as I live.

Yeah, like an obedient consumer marketing drone (laughs).

Which is funny, because I grew up in such an age of toy and TV/movie tie-ins. I watched G.I. Joe and Transformers on TV, then I made my parents go to the store to buy me them (laughs) I didn't even bother with the 2^nd Transformers movie. There was a line of dialogue in it where Optimus Prime says, "Rawhide, what is your deal?" I was like - What is this? Robots from another planet talk like that?

How many TV commercials have you shot now in total - aside from Verizon ads?

A lot. First spots I did were for Sears Diehard with Pete Holmes. Then I did a lawn care thing - Scott's lawn care. Before that was a Trident gum spot, which didn't even run. It was like a spec demo kind of thing. I was doing about a commercial a month around then. It was insane.

Was it easy getting the Verizon FIOS gig? Lots of auditions?

That wasn't even supposed to be a campaign. I just showed up for one audition and did the call back and that was it. We've now filmed about one a month for a year.

Do you have input in creation of the Verizon FIOS cable guy? Is it all in the script, and you interpret it with a director, or a combo of improv/comic skills with script?

When we show up, we have a situation, whatever it is or whatever the original idea is. Sometimes it will end up running on TV, but most of the time it doesn't. That's why they want comedians performing because we can take it somewhere they hadn't considered before, or we can just make something that's not good funny, or funnier. There is a lot of different factors, and a lot of people involved in the process.

Would you ever like to be a cast member on Saturday Night Live?

I guess. With a TV show like that though, you're at the will of other people. While when you're doing stand-up, you're only responsible unto yourself. That would just be work (SNL), more of an extension of a job and an income. To really pursue the art of comedy, I wouldn't expect it to come from a venue like that.

Is there anything too controversial that you won't touch in your comedy?

No, anything can be funny. As long as it's funny, there's nothing else to consider. If you're going to be up there naming your roommate by name, and you hurt his feelings, then that's not funny. If you've somehow 'gone too far' and the room is offended, you've skipped a couple steps leading them on that journey. Once you've lost them, and they're not with you anymore, it's your fault. It's not the subject matter, and it's never the audience's fault.

Any thoughts on current events like Tiger Woods?

I don't think it's a real issue. It's TV noise. It's no different than reading the comic sections in newspapers. It's just a way to hold your attention between TV commercials.

What are you upcoming projects?

I'm going to appear on the John Oliver Comedy Central special in January. I have a CD coming out soon. I'm also on AMC hosting the Action Pack with Nick Stevens. My comedy troupe is Front Page Films.com, and we're now talking with Comedy Central to provide interstitial material on the network.

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